Online at this address https://write.as/jpds/pecha-kucha
Invited speakers bring 20 images to be shown for 20 seconds each 20 x 20 The speakers’ 20 images advance automatically to the next on every 20 seconds Event name Death by Power Point may be used by participants who will include artists, clowns, actors and musicians and activists. 6 minutes 40 seconds time limited slots Encouraged to keep to subject illustrated “Pecha Kucha” established format Taigh Chearsabhagh have run similar events facilitated by Rosie Blake.
I enjoyed attending a similar event at Taigh Chearsabhagh facilitated by Rosie Blake so had an idea how the Pecha Kucha format worked to keep talks short and interesting. The original event was to be called Death by Powerpoint and be run live at a venue around Edinburgh.
An event proposal was written up and presented (also as a Pecha Kucha) and covered the following:
This is a live story telling event where invited speakers provide 20 images to be shown as a slide show that automatically advances to the next image every 20 seconds. (20x20s) The theme for the event will link the participants who will include artists, clowns, actors and musicians and activists.
The idea was to invite speakers from among a community of dancers that I am part of.
This is a number of people who have come together regularly, sometimes for many years for the purpose of dancing for a couple of hours but without speaking. With the Pecha Kucha storytelling format in mind I was interested in hearing stories on subjects that the participant’s cared about and where they would accept the challenge of sharing to some strangers.
Speakers will therefore be limited to 6 minutes 40 seconds each and are encouraged to keep to the subject matter illustrated by their images. This format known as “Pecha Kucha” has been used successfully internationally with varied groupings for example at Taigh Chearsabagh where community events have been run by Rosie Blake.
The event venue will be a community resource that carries insurance and is local to the participants accessible by public transport and wheelchair users. If necessary, participants my join using zoom or the entire event could be moved online. Timescale The event will take place in March 2021 with publicity launch in February.
The intention is to provide entertainment and education to the participants and social interaction through sharing stories. Outcome The outcome will support my professional development by developing connections and skills and confidence in running an event. Outputs A contact list subject to GDPR and recording with permission of participants. The slide pack can be saved for anyone requesting a copy. Report of the event and evaluation collated.
Venue and refreshments Publicity (leaflet/posters)
Donations on the day if necessary.
Covid restrictions affecting the venue or technical issues with an online version. Speakers will be offered help with images and format and timings in advance and I will pay attention to timing when chairing. To mitigate Covid restrictions or absence most speakers will be local although the event could be run online it would be preferable not to change the list of participants to those who would be otherwise chosen for a purely online event that would allow for more geographical spread. A decent number of speakers will reduce the impact of a speaker not making it along while keeping a mix of short topics that keeps attention. An interval will give people a chance to stretch legs and mingle. I will request a copy of content a couple of days before the event and any script that has been created could be used for contingency.
Show of hands whether participants would be interested in a similar event or not and any changes and suggestions. A chance to mingle will allow more feedback to be collated. If the event is online there will be time to encourage chat and a form to be filled in.
The following changes were made to the plan were made in response to experience, feedback and Covid restrictions.
Whilst the event was associated with Taigh Chearsabhagh, the venue for the live event had been chosen as St Augustine’s Church in Edinburgh in preference to Cockenzie House (near me outside Edinburgh).
The reason for Cockenzie is that there are local people including artists that it would be interesting to get to know. The reason for choosing Edinburgh was that most potential speakers were from Edinburgh and I had enjoyed previous events at the same venue which was insured and accessible and offered flexibility in room sizes to cater for either an intimate number but also more if required without being out of pocket if there was a smaller turn-out.
The original title “Death to Powerpoint” was dropped following feedback from the event proposal presentation. It added a level of explanation and just calling it Pecha Kucha was simpler and interesting and new to most people.
At the time of the presenting the Event Proposal it was becoming more likely that the event would not be able to be live due to Covid restrictions. While not at all certain, the contingency was adopted to to make it an online event.
Having this decided made planning easier in terms of the venue, and the publicity could be changed to online only. Going online would have a bearing on running the event, feedback and delivery for the participants who would not have eye contact and immediate audience response but this had been considered and it was possible to plan to make the event on-line with the technology available.
The event was combined with Harry and Sif (fellow students) live event (film showing) so that we could benefit from each others audiences and share publicity to build a combined event.
An event was created using Eventbrite free account.
The publicity material was shared on Instagram and Facebook as well as by email.
Used existing old facebook groups I was a member of though these were old.
We could have made more of college resources.
Eventbrite has a link to zoom so zoom event can be made available to attendees who have registered (bought ‘tickets’ at £0 on the site.
Eventbite provides a view of those with an intention of attending through ticket ‘sales’.
GDPR considerations are simplified in that I am not storing mailing lists or personal details as they are held by Eventbrite which the ‘customer’ signs up to.
Actually the eventbrite organiser (me) can also see the mail list on their server so there is a considerations if I then copy them to my computer or use it.
Eventbrite is for ticketed events, our tickets were free but allows tracking of who had signed up for the event.
Instagram event did not have link until day before found how to add webpage to Instagram Profile and post to point to it.
With the event being online Instagram and Facebook was key in putting out the publicity.
Most artists use Instagram and most others use Facebook and may not look at Instagram even if they have an account which is linked with Facebook.
The eventbrite event generated for Facebook links back to evenbrite to make it easy to sign up and attend via zoom.
However for Instagram there is no readily clickable link so I was advertising it on Instagram but without any way to join !
Two days before I realised this and that I could add a website to my Instagram profile which I set to the eventbrite page for the event and mentioned this in an Instagram post.
This meant no-one other than participants took up tickets until 2 days prior to the event, with half the tickets being taken up within 24 hours of the event.
This could be seen as an oversight or as a success in building momentum.
Creating a zoom account with student email during Covid crisis removed the 40 minute limit and allows a recording to be made.
38 attendees via Eventbrite others maybe direct via Zoom ?
City Attendees Orders
Total 38 36
Edinburgh 12 11
Inverness 3 2
Isle of North Uist 2 2
Haddington 2 2
Dumfries 2 2
Birmingham 2 2
Wakefield 1 1
Nairobi 1 1
London 1 1
Kirkwall 1 1
Isle of South Uist 1 1
Glasgow 1 1
Frankfurt am Main 1 1
Boston 1 1
Benbecula 1 1
Ashford 1 1
Aberfeldy 1 1
Feedback was requested during the call using chat or by returning email with suggested questions posted in the chat
Methods: Asked for feedback on the call
Posted open questions in the Zoom chat.
Asked for feedback on the call.
Forgot to add email with questions in the Zoom chat so followed with direct email using eventbrite email.
Starter Questions
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO GIVE FEEDBACK using the ZOOM CHAT or COPY THESE QUESTIONS INTO AN EMAIL TO SEND AFTER THE EVENT OR STAY AND CHAT As a speaker or audience What would like more of ? What would you like less of ? What would you do differently ? What did you think of the length of the event ? What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ? Would you attend another ? Would you like to do a talk in future ? Any other comments ?
Feedback plus reviewing the recording need to practice speaking in public
Have something prepared for example waiting for people to join
Remember to tell people just joining what’s happening instead of silence
Undulate voice and less ems
Problems with slide play back
I had set transitions to 20 seconds but did not always work
I think now was me clicking other places in the zoom call during the playback causing interruption
I since discovered power-point can be exported to a single video
No sound for video when I was presenter because I was on mute
Ask for questions / discussion after last speaker rather than between each
Make recordings available after event
Zoom education account allowed a recording
Share images - way to revisit recording or slides that could be kept afterwards.
The Zoom recording is a large file
see https://write.as/jpds/pecha-kucha
19:01:39 From Anne Pirrie : Ah, now I know where that was from. I always wondered. Now I know it was the Frisian Lady!
19:07:37 From Janet Fenton : very beautiful pieces
19:07:53 From Rosalind Blake : WOW! Amazing work Damien
19:08:22 From Anna Blackwood : Love it. I take it you will need a new storm soon!
19:08:45 From Anna Blackwood : Not when I am sea - please
19:08:48 From Susannah Bolton : Enjoyed the detailed photographs of the surfaces. Thanks.
19:08:52 From Nigel Fawthrop : Love it Damian, They look fantastic. and the link to Whiskey Galore - a life changer...
19:09:35 From Susan Wilson : lots of wood on beach near me
19:18:53 From Rosalind Blake : A recent graduate of LCC - Kirsty O’Connor made her degree show work about the vulva and the vesicant picses
19:19:02 From John Kippin : very enjoyable - thank you
19:19:05 From Nigel Fawthrop : Fantastic Rachel.
19:19:27 From Joanne Thin : Very cool
19:19:46 From Rosalind Blake : Great stuff, thanks Rachel
19:21:05 From marymorrison : Sorry guys, have to leave for the writing group, so far sgoinneil - such talent energy and self realisation - inspirational.
19:23:27 From Richard Scott : thanks all have to go now, sadly but also happily
19:29:23 From Anne Pirrie : Ooh, flies caught in a spider’s web.
19:32:06 From Jean Newman : Fantastic work Sif and Harry!! Beautiful images of Sif’s ceramics
19:32:26 From Rosalind Blake : Really interesting to see the two works contrasted
19:32:30 From Astrid W : Where if not on or inspired by the Hebrides! Great stuff!
19:32:49 From Kayleigh Kellas : thank you! that was lovely!
19:32:57 From John Kippin : great collaborative film - well done
19:33:00 From Simon : that was amazing, loved the video!! Agree the two contrasting art forms blending so well in the video
19:33:12 From Rosalind Blake : Worked really well folks, well done
19:33:19 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : Amazing thank you, spooky, magical,like an internal medical camera exploring a part organiclifeform#
19:33:20 From Catherine Yeatman : I loved Harry’s creatures in a box. And I loved how the film cut between the two.
19:33:33 From Sif Nielsen : thank you :)
19:33:45 From harry hardie : Thanks folks :)
19:34:43 From Catherine Yeatman : Great making Sif, and I loved the spooky dark, but sad that you lose the detail of the textures of the clay and pieces.
19:42:26 From Helen’s iPad : Love these images.
19:42:31 From Rosalind Blake : Thank you Janet that was fascinating
19:42:34 From Helga : Thank you Janet, fantastic presentation, very moving!
19:43:04 From Helga : Sadly have to leave now, Thanks everyone, enjoy the rest of the evening xx thanks John for organising
19:43:14 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : So important to bring this to the attention of the people - thankyou - wonderful artworks
19:43:42 From Janet Fenton : Thanks Johnnu for the opportunity to share and for the attention all
19:51:50 From Rosalind Blake : Love it.
19:51:54 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : Loved it, thank you for being here!
19:52:06 From Janet Fenton : Fascinating photos
19:52:37 From Janet Fenton : Thanks Annie liked that very much
19:52:50 From Caitlin Brodie : that was amazing, anne. iconic
20:00:06 From Kayleigh Kellas : That was lovely Susan! Very inspiring.
20:00:44 From Rosalind Blake : Love the drawings, so interesting to see the non dominant hand
20:00:47 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : Thank you, really enjoyed your images : )
20:03:43 From Catherine Yeatman : Hi john and co. Sorry I have to leave now....but a great event. I like that everyone is different and the breath of the journey,but also some threads that connect across them all.
20:05:28 From Anne Pirrie : I love these Anji. I particularly appreciate you comments on the value of imperfection
20:08:30 From Sif Nielsen : Loved it, thank you :)
20:08:33 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : Awesome vessels - really blown away
20:08:39 From Anne Pirrie : Thank you!
20:08:51 From Rosalind Blake : Utterly beautiful images and pace
20:09:42 From Anne Pirrie : Apologies. I have to leave now. Goodbye everyone.
20:09:58 From John Scott : Thanks Annie speak soon
20:10:00 From Susan Wilson : lovely to hear you speak about your work
20:11:53 From Rosalind Blake : So agree with that !
20:12:11 From Rosalind Blake : The spaces are vital, and allow for reflection
20:12:33 From Rosalind Blake : (For the speaker and the viewer) really moving
20:13:53 From Astrid W : Sorry, have to leave now as well. Hope you will do some virtual Event again, Count me in for that! Stay happy and healty
20:15:32 From Rosalind Blake : Thank you to all the presenters and massive thanks John! This has been a brilliant evening
20:15:37 From Kayleigh Kellas : thank you!
20:15:44 From Carrie : As a non artist I have found this fascinating. Such a variety of expression and so much talent. I am inspired to have a dabble myself. Like the idea of imperfection. Thanks to all who contributed. Thanks John 😊
20:15:45 From Sif Nielsen : https://vimeo.com/528903134
20:15:48 From Anna Blackwood : Great to see such interesting and vaired work
20:16:03 From Janet Fenton : Thanks so much it has been a fascinating time
20:16:21 From Rachel Alvarado/ Damian Tremlett : Thank you Johnny, enjoyed it a lot. Will email feedback
20:16:31 From Susan Wilson : thanks very much really interesting event.
20:17:47 From Philip Wark : Thanks John for organising this event. It was interesting and informative. Great to see what artists are doing and how they work
20:18:08 From Janet Fenton : love the collaborative nature of sharing work in this way, such a rich learning opportunity
20:19:49 From Rosalind Blake : Come to North Uist Carrie and learn art with us :D
20:22:17 From Sif Nielsen : Thank you John! see you
20:22:19 From Janet Fenton : I am aware that you are recording it all, I'd like to have had some kind of way of revisiting the slides and the stories and a catalogue we could have to keep after would be good.`
I would personally be happy with 1 hour in total. So maybe have less presentations.
What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ?
I did enjoy the variety of subjects, and it was nice to see the film too.
Would you attend another ?
Yes, if I am available.
Would you like to do a talk in future ?
Possibly.
Would you like to run a Pecha Kucha event ?
i am not sure, not at the moment, but who knows what will happen in the future.
2) What would like more of ?
I would have liked more of people (including myself to speak about their practice, for example, what/why on that journey, what underpins the work.
Which artists etc inspired them.
2) What would you like less of ?
Less slides.
3) What would you do differently ?
Own work: I would start with an introduction. (Prepare) i would have timed my gaps between speaking.
4) What did you think of the length of the event ?
I thought the length was right.
But the length of the slides was slightly tight, and a lot of slides.
I think maybe trying a different approach, give a time then allowing the artists to work with that time?
The way the presentation ran (20slides each for 20seconds) is good in a way because it doesn’t allow the artist to think too much about it and waffle.
But on the other side, it can be a lot of info if the artist crams a lot in, then quickly moves on, in turn, not allowing the viewer to process the image and info before moving on to the next image.
But 20 slides amd 20 images can encourage, teach the artist to only put in key words, important info etc. (If this is grasped)
It could be an idea to keep working like this this teach limited descriptions etc?
5) What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ?
For me, I find a mix of subjects confusing.
I like when there is a “theme” a subject.
The theme shows a coherent thread, a connection, but it also shows the different approaches. Of each h artist.
I enjoyed the mix of media used.
This stops the brain from becoming stagnant.
With having various media’s, it sparks the brain as we need to use different parts of the brain.
It keeps the viewer alert and brain working.
Particularly with working remotely.
5) Would you attend another ?
Yes, I would attend another.
6) Would you like to do a talk in future ?
Yes, I would do a talk to develop my communication, build my confidence, and learn from different approaches (mistakes, rights etc)
7) Would you like to run a Pecha Kucha event ?
Yes, this is something I would think about.
For the same reasons as above.
Any other comments ?
I would like say Thankyou to the organiser for asking me to take part.
Since graduating, I’ve not had the opportunity to do presentations.
Therefore, I had lost a lot of what I gained while studying.
So this was a great opportunity to do this again.
The event was great, to see all different people creating, speaking about politics etc was interesting and thought provoking.
I look forward to the next event.
I enjoyed the presentations.The eventbrite link worked well. We were only able to attend for the first half of the evening but I think it is a good format particularly for colleagues working together. I was not familiar with the concept but thought it was a very good way of emphasising the visual so that the image has to speak for itself which seems right for visual artists. Well done for taking up a new career it sounds fascinating.
Best wishes Bruce,
Answers to your questions, I’m being honest otherwise there is no point in replying:
Yes the Eventbrite worked but there might be some lessons to learn eg it was supposed to start at 6.30pm but didn’t really get going until around 6.45pm. I realise this is the first time you’ve done this so there were bound to be teething problems. Also the sound from your mike wasn’t great and the camera angle was wrong, all we could see was the top of your head and the ceiling
diversity of arts - the event was good in that it presented different art forms from sculpture, drawing, film and photography.
not sure there is anything less
Maybe prime the audience beforehand about how the event works eg let them know that questions can be asked after each mini event, you might have already done that and I missed it. I would also limit the time for questions during the event so that there is a quick flow of presentations with time at the end for more questions
too long - 6.30pm - 8.30pm is a long time, also it is meal time so a lot of people might not attend. Better to have it for an hour, say 7.30pm - 8.30pm
Mix of subject was great, including the film, even though I didn’t understand the last part of it!
yes I would
yes possibly a photo show
no thanks, organised too many events and activities in my lifetime. You might ask Carl Barber, he would be delighted
I’m pleased I attended and congratulations on getting so many participants and members of the audien
I need to watch the recording as frustratingly didnt catch much of the pecha kucha as the connection was poor - what I saw was really interesting. I wonder if presenters could send their questions via this email group?
BTW Im sure I know Jane Fenton from my arts in communities days in North Edinburgh.
Best regards
I was very happy to get an invitation to this highly original event. I thought the format was intriguing, since it was new to me; it was highly flexible and appropriate for the individual journeys. My only sadness was that I had to leave for the TC visiting poet to the writing group at 7.30. Will we be able to pick up on what we missed? (I would also like more of a reference for this notion of Pecha Kucha, if you could spare the time to let me know?)
We loved the equity and diversity of this model of presentation. -especially the integrity, honesty, inner reflections and openness of the participants.
The range of genres within the first hour was evidence of the excellence of the support and pedagogy of this Fine Art course. There was a sense of freedom , exploration, expansion and vitality, rare within the constraints of an academic course, especially during a pandemic. Each person’s set of slides seemed to represent such very subjective sets of challenges, whether of use of media, content, rationale and process. What was most heartening to me was the evidence of the therapeutic nature of the creative process during these parlous times. I was also impressed by the sustainability and serendipity of use of materials.
Thanks so much for delighting this ‘cailleach’ and her ‘botach’ at the end of a dreary day. Sgoinneil!
Dhùrachdan,
What would like more of ? I liked the Pecha Kucha format. It would maximise the benefit of the structure to have the slides timed automatically. Gives it a kind of ryrhm.
What would you like less of ?
What would you do differently ?
What did you think of the length of the event ? Perfect!
What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ?
Excellent mix, was really good to mix the topics, helped to keep the presentations fresh. It enforced different types of people with very different styles and messages. It kept it light.
Would you attend another ? Yes definitely
Would you like to do a talk in future ?
Yes/Maybe
Would you like to run a Pecha Kucha event ?
Any other comments ?
It was really very good.
If you did it again, a tiny little (20 sec) intro and close down chat would have improved the opening /closing of the event
a little one-sentence introduction for each speaker would also be good as I didn’t know all the other speakers.
Thankyou - it was a fun experience.
What would like more of ? More options to engage. This is not necessarily a problem with your set up but more a year of lockdown fatigue and for myself trying to articulate what does and doesn’t work. So for me the whole zoom format is very passive in a way that sitting in a room catching someone’s eye across a room or sharing a giggle when someone else sneezes is what puts you in the room. I don’t know how you do this in this kind of format. Breakout rooms work well in more structured learning environment but that’s tricky to impose on an event like this. Perhaps you should turn it into panto and get us all to do a sing along?
What would you like less of ? I had to leave before the end but I think you could have had less and gone just over an hr and it would have been fine. Back to my point above we are a passive audience leave us wanting more…..
What would you do differently ? Have it live…. I know that’s not an option. Sorry just on my rant now.
I think these kind of events also work best when you have a pair of facilitators, one who can keep talking and engaging while the other fiddles with the tech. You can swap around and it makes you feel like you are less out there on your own, and can support each other.
What did you think of the length of the event ? Oh I’ve answered that above?
What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ?
Great. This was the best for me. I really enjoyed the breadth and range of the talks, but also that there were threads that wove through providing links.
Hope this is helpful.
What would like more of ?
I enjoy artist talks, maybe art historians, gallerists, writers, philosophers.
Apologies that it has take me so long to give you feedback. Overall it was a very good event and well organised. It is always a bit of a nightmare trying to get the technology to work and you did very well. Joining with Eventbrite was fine. Sadly, I had to leave after Sif and Harry’s film, so I did not see the whole show.
I think I would have liked a bit more information in advance about the artists and their practice and what is their connection to the students. And I think possibly I would have liked to see more prominence given to the LCC students, perhaps a bit of biographical chat between the three of you? Also it would have been interesting to hear how you manage to keep in touch at a creative level when you are dispersed.
I would certainly attend another event and would be happy to take part. I am currently doing an MResCP with UHI.
With best wishes
Jean
I was very happy to get an invitation to this highly original event. I thought the format was intriguing, since it was new to me; it was highly flexible and appropriate for the individual journeys. My only sadness was that I had to leave for the TC visiting poet to the writing group at 7.30. Will we be able to pick up on what we missed? (I would also like more of a reference for this notion of Pecha Kucha, if you could spare the time to let me know?)
We loved the equity and diversity of this model of presentation. -especially the integrity, honesty, inner reflections and openness of the participants.
The range of genres within the first hour was evidence of the excellence of the support and pedagogy of this Fine Art course. There was a sense of freedom , exploration, expansion and vitality, rare within the constraints of an academic course, especially during a pandemic. Each person’s set of slides seemed to represent such very subjective sets of challenges, whether of use of media, content, rationale and process. What was most heartening to me was the evidence of the therapeutic nature of the creative process during these parlous times. I was also impressed by the sustainability and serendipity of use of materials.
Thanks so much for delighting this ‘cailleach’ and her ‘botach’ at the end of a dreary day. Sgoinneil!
Dhùrachdan,
màiri
1) Did the eventbrite link work ? Yes, eventbright worked and this was quick.
2) What would like more of ?
I would have liked more of people (including myself to speak about their practice, for example, what/why on that journey, what underpins the work.
Which artists etc inspired them.
2) What would you like less of ?
Less slides.
3) What would you do differently ?
Own work: I would start with an introduction. (Prepare) i would have timed my gaps between speaking.
4) What did you think of the length of the event ?
I thought the length was right.
But the length of the slides was slightly tight, and a lot of slides.
I think maybe trying a different approach, give a time then allowing the artists to work with that time?
The way the presentation ran (20slides each for 20seconds) is good in a way because it doesn’t allow the artist to think too much about it and waffle.
But on the other side, it can be a lot of info if the artist crams a lot in, then quickly moves on, in turn, not allowing the viewer to process the image and info before moving on to the next image.
But 20 slides amd 20 images can encourage, teach the artist to only put in key words, important info etc. (If this is grasped)
It could be an idea to keep working like this this teach limited descriptions etc?
5) What did you think of the mix of subjects and including film showing ?
For me, I find a mix of subjects confusing.
I like when there is a “theme” a subject.
The theme shows a coherent thread, a connection, but it also shows the different approaches. Of each h artist.
I enjoyed the mix of media used.
This stops the brain from becoming stagnant.
With having various media’s, it sparks the brain as we need to use different parts of the brain.
It keeps the viewer alert and brain working.
Particularly with working remotely.
5) Would you attend another ?
Yes, I would attend another.
6) Would you like to do a talk in future ?
Yes, I would do a talk to develop my communication, build my confidence, and learn from different approaches (mistakes, rights etc)
7) Would you like to run a Pecha Kucha event ?
Yes, this is something I would think about.
For the same reasons as above.
Any other comments ?
I would like say Thankyou to the organiser for asking me to take part.
Since graduating, I’ve not had the opportunity to do presentations.
Therefore, I had lost a lot of what I gained while studying.
So this was a great opportunity to do this again.
The event was great, to see all different people creating, speaking about politics etc was interesting and thought provoking.
I look forward to the next event.
Sgoinneil!